


Operation: ENEMY WITHIN

by Noscere



Series: Operation Rejected Asylum (XCOM) [3]
Category: XCOM (Video Games) & Related Fandoms, XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2012)
Genre: Gen, The coffee in the Geoscape tastes like Thin Man sludge but it works
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-21
Updated: 2016-01-21
Packaged: 2018-05-15 07:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5776852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noscere/pseuds/Noscere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is no shore leave during an alien invasion. A shame, really. Central Officer Bradford could use a trip to the Bahamas. Or Thailand. Or Miami. Somewhere nice and far away from humanity's first and last line of defense.</p>
<p>Or: The reason why Bradford wasn’t carrying a pistol when the aliens attacked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Operation: ENEMY WITHIN

Some days, Bradford wondered if he was the central officer of a secret paramiltary operation, or the warden at an asylum. Or a middle school teacher. He shook his head. For the sixth time, the Engineering team had tried to build a gun with a barrel large enough to fit Shen’s entire body. They were kind enough to build a life-size model out of foam. The actual gun would presumably weigh as much as an Interceptor. Where would they put the thing?

The access lift shuddered to a halt. The doors hissed open to an empty corridor.

Bradford rubbed his eyes. How long had it been since he had last slept? No matter. The Commander would be up in two hours, and then he could sleep. Until then, it was _Vigilo confido_ for Bradford. Sleep would just have to wait.

It was 23:40. The vast majority of base personnel were asleep. But the Geoscape and the corridor leading to it were active 24/7: the aliens didn’t seem to sleep, so XCOM was constantly vigilant. Even at 04:00 in the morning, either Field Commander Doorn or himself would be watching the Geoscape for any alien activity, probably with an IV drip of caffeine feeding into their veins.

So why was the Geoscape silent?

Bradford pressed himself to the wall. This silence could only mean one thing: XCOM operatives were at it again. What _it_ was… anyone’s guess, really. He prayed that it wasn’t a resurgence of Commanderism – or god forbid, XCOM had a new cult worshipping the aliens. He wouldn’t put it past the operatives.

He drew the modified Arc Thrower from his belt and crept towards the Geoscape doors. This time, the soldiers would have a fight on their hands. The Central Officer had spent enough time duct-taped to a cross for his liking.

Bradford pressed the switch. The doors hissed open.

He nearly had a heart attack.

 

His command staff were all gone. Puddles of dark red liquids pooled below the tables where the technicians once sat. Sectoids were everywhere – two propped against the water cooler, a pod studying the Hologlobe, one in O’Ryan’s seat, one at Jin’s desk… One smug bastard had even commandeered Bradford’s post.

Not for long.

Rage swelled within the Central Officer. How dare they? After all XCOM had been through, those alien bastards just strolled in and wiped out his men. He hadn’t even woken up. The aliens had wiped out the base before someone could have called a code red – that was the only way Bradford could have slept through the invasion. Bradford’s instructions may have led to the death of three soldiers during the first contact with the aliens, but this was intolerable. They were his men – from the scientists in the lab, to the engineers in the foundry and the rookies who would probably end up on the Memorial Wall – they were under his command. He would make those fuckers pay.

A purple tendril of psionic energy floated out from one of the Sectoids. It connected to the bastard at Bradford’s post.

Bradford snapped. He dropped the Arc Thrower and took up his pistol – only a laser one, the Research Team was still working on plasma pistols – but it would be enough. Central Officer Bradford might die today, but the x-rays would fear his name for generations to come.

 

His pistol rang out, as the aliens gained a few more holes. They didn’t scatter, but Bradford didn’t care. Let them come. They would pay.

“And that’s for my men!” he shouted as he tagged the one at his station.

 

Had Bradford been a little less tired and over-caffeinated, he might have noticed that a few Sectoids already had severe laser burns. The one at Jin’s desk in particular was missing a few limbs. 

He might have also noticed the Arc Thrower and panicked screaming behind him.

 

* * *

 

 

“We’re really sorry, sir.”

Bradford refused to look at the XCOM operatives gathered at the foot of his bed. “Why the _fuck_ did you think that was a good idea, soldier?”

He heard the shuffling and clanking of chitin armor. Good. It would save the soldier from the unholy beatdown she would have received if Vahlen would just let him out of these _goddamn restraints–_

“Prep for a base attack, sir?”

“Is that what you lot thought?”

There was an uneasy mumble from the crowd.

If Bradford wasn’t restrained to his cot, he would have attempted to bash his brains out against the wall.

“Kitchen duty. All of you. For the next fucking month. You’re all dismissed, you bunch of psychopathic fucks.”

 

 

 

 Official Things X-COM Operatives are not allowed to do, Volume I:

  1. Replacing all the command staff in the Geoscape with sectoid corpses propped up in the seats was not funny. Bradford is still recovering in the medical bay.



 

 

**Author's Note:**

> All credit goes to Rogue Vector and the Space Battle Forums for coming up with these ideas. Go check out the entire list (and some rejected ideas) on the Google Doc or the forum!


End file.
